The Search for a Friend - Song Masters
by SongMasterDesmond
Summary: The second part of the Song Masters series. It will tie in with several parts in Demigod City. Until I get to those parts, I'll start off the second installment in the Song Masters series. This will mix in the Native American and Norse mythology, and maybe some slight additions of other pantheons. Give it a read and REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

**The Search for a Friend - Prologue**

**Chapter 1**

**3 Days later…**

**~Third Person POV~**

Camp was in upheaval yet again. The 2 most powerful campers, Percy Jackson and Desmond Blake had disappeared. Percy had disappeared after 3 months from the end of the Battle, while Desmond disappeared after. Desmond left behind a note saying he's gone looking for help for the war, while Chiron refuses to say whether there _is_ a war coming or not. The Hunters were searching as well as the Campers, none more so than Annabeth. She loved Percy, and considered Desmond as a brother. The three had grown close and often spent time together. Then Percy and Desmond disappeared, and camp was in a panic again.

**On Singapore Island**

**~Desmond POV~**

I slashed the Wendigo away, and cleaved the Jötunn into half. Neither monster disintegrated, something I was used to. However, my friend Darryl was off to the side, bashing in any that dared to face him. Both of us were the most powerful in this city, and as a result the enemy decided to concentrate on us. Darryl was used to it, since he's lived here for 22 years since birth. He fought his first monster at 11, and as a result a large chunk of his school was coated in ice. That was the aftermath of a battle with a Jötunn, fighting it with a pipe wrench. He managed to kill it by ramming the wrench up its nose.

Now, he was a demon on the battlefield, taking out chunk after chunk of the monster army. _The soldiers really weren't lying when they said he's the best close range fighter._ And later on we'll have a welcoming spar. The two of us do it all the time, and it turned out to be a tradition for a close friend or someone related to the returning hero to spar with him or her. It's a bit weird, but I guess it's used to show how much you have improved since you left. All I can say for myself is that I fought an army of weakling monsters and a few Titans. Not much for a returning champion.

Right now, I continued crushing the monsters in front of me. I kept on the death face and a few monsters hesitated. I took the opportunity to slash off their heads. The monsters not turning to dust meant that there is a lot more resistance when it comes to slashing through a monster. A normal blow that slices through a giant only gives these Giants a small nick. A battering ram force is required to separate it from its head. The giant I was fighting sent me flying when it blocked my axe with its shield. It had swung the shield, sending me flying. I went crashing somewhere among the troops. All I felt was a sense of weightlessness, and then I plummeted towards the ground.

**~Darryl POV~**

I returned from taking down the Roc, and was just in time to see Desmond sent flying. _He can take care of himself_. I turned to the Giant he was fighting, and charged it. Spinning my Hammer, the static energy built up, until I released. The Hammer, crackling with electricity, bashed through the giant's chest, and knocked out the giant behind it. There was a howl, and Fenrir appeared. I grinned at the wolf, "Took you long enough."

He growled, and I caught my Hammer as it flew back to me. Grim smile set, I stalked towards Fenrir.

"Want a Hammer down your throat like what happened last time?"

There was a snarl, and he pounced. I anticipated it, the tensing of the back legs, the pull back of the lips as it prepared to bite, and the baring of the canines. It all pointed towards the leap he executed. I sent the Hammer up, and it snapped his jaw shut. He flew overhead, whirled around, and pounced again. I traded blows with him, he occasionally scoring huge gashes on my chest, arm, and thighs. I was rewarded with several bone crunching cracks every time my Hammer connected with a soft spot. Eventually, I managed to get a blow on his head, and he hit the ground dead. That's when I realized the monsters were retreating. My soldiers chased after them, before eventually returning to base.

I staggered back, pressing my healing orb to my chest, which had the worst. 2-3 inches deep, 4 long claw slashes on my chest. It was mostly central. I'm no doctor, so I have no idea if it is serious. My Apollo healing abilities were placed in my healing orb, so I could fully develop my other powers. Besides, this way I can heal many others without using my own strength. The healing power inside, however, is quite slow. It takes quite some time to heal a wound as serious as this. I had never let myself show my true emotions. Selene was the first who managed to break through the mask, followed by Desmond.

They were my closest friends, Selene and I, maybe more. However, we had gone camping outside the Demigod City's borders on one of our dates, which was when Fenrir decided to attack us. I could remember an ambush of several Wendigo and _yee naaldlooshii_, Shape-Shifters, also known as skin walkers. I fought them, but didn't notice Fenrir until I heard Selene scream. I bashed open the skull of the last Wendigo, before turning to find Fenrir tearing into Selene's body. I was shocked, hit by waves of anguish, and anger. I had never felt such anger before, and looking back on it, I scared myself. I had unlocked tremendous power with such anger, which I had used on Fenrir.

My Hammer caught fire, and I proceeded to beat the crap out of him. I ended the fight by smashing my Hammer down his throat, while it was on fire. I held it there, until he had fully died. After that, I had collapsed, the last thing I heard was Desmond's voice. _He must have been keeping tabs on us._ I thought. I was brought back to my senses by a soldier waving a hand in front of my face. "Earth to General… Come in General…"

I shook my head to clear my mind, before glaring at him. He shrunk back, and I started laughing at him. "Relax, Glenn. I already said I hate formalities."

He smiled, before helping me up, supporting me into the city. I moved the healing orb to my arm, with a particularly nasty slash from Fenrir's fang. The soldier noticed and gasped. "Sir, you should let the medics handle it. You're hurt badly."

I waved it off. "There are others worse off than me. I'll be fine."

He nodded, though I noticed he kept flicking his eyes at me every now and then. By the time we had entered the city, I was halfway back to normal. I swallowed another piece of ambrosia, before getting off the soldier and walking into the city.

**~Desmond POV~**

I woke up, and found myself in the infirmary. Several medical equipment and devices were attached to me, and as I sat up, a doctor entered. I recognized him and smiled. Sam, one of my friends here. He was a good friend of Darryl and me. He and Darryl go to the same school together, and he's the son of Asclepius. Darryl was a legacy of Apollo and Hephaestus, extremely powerful. He is also blessed by Thor, and wields a near-replica of Mjölnir. He is highly skilled with the Hammer, and is the only one who can stand toe-to-toe with me. Then there was Selene, who was Darryl's girlfriend. However, Selene was killed by Fenrir as I could not arrive in time. And ever since then Darryl has been out for Fenrir's blood. It was said that for many months, all wolves in a 100 mile radius stayed away from him.

I got up and Sam came over to check on my vitals. "Hey," I said, voice raspy.

"Hey to you too, are you feeling okay?"

"Like I was hit by a truck, and then run over by said truck."

Sam laughed, and I couldn't help but chuckle. We were good friends, and I knew that despite his actions, he was hiding something.

"Darryl's not back yet, is he?"

Sam nodded, "That is most disturbing, given that he always manages to return, no matter how bad the battle is."

I knew what was going on. Demigod City has been under siege for many years, monsters attack frequently. The City has state-of-the-art a-hundred-years-ahead defense system, but the monster attacks had increased to such a level that the defenses are hard pressed to keep up.

"I know, but don't worry. He _alway_s makes it back."

Speak of the Devil, Darryl chose this moment to walk in, "Of course I do. Who else would be there to fix you up after you decide to fight the nearest monster?"

I grinned as he pressed his healing orb to my chest. "So, when are we gonna spar?"

Sam rolled his eyes while Darryl smirked, "Right now, now _up_."

I groaned as I got out of the bed, and felt a sense of relief as the throbbing in the back of my head decreased in intensity.

Sam handed me a glass of water, which relieved me of the dryness of my throat. I pulled off the arm patch, and stood up.

"So, lead the way."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Strange People in the world**

**Chapter 1**

**-Jason-**

_This is wrong._

He woke up on the backseat of the bus, as it rumbled down the road. Outside was nothing but desert, which was when he found himself in an awkward situation. A girl wearing faded jeans, hiking boots and a snowboarding jacket was asleep on his lap, while a boy next to him and another just in front were laughing silently and saying something in sign language.

He looked down at her. Her chocolate brown hair was cut choppy and uneven, with thin strands braided down the sides. She wore no makeup like she was trying not to draw attention to herself, but it didn't work. She was seriously pretty.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Her eyes seemed to change colours like a kaleidoscope – brown, blue, green.

"Jason, you okay?"

She got up and took his hand. He felt uncomfortable and pulled back, "Look, I'm sorry but I –

"The lovebirds have awakened, whoo!" The guy in front of him shouted all of a sudden, and the two jumped. The curly haired boy next to Jason cracked up, and high-fived the guy in front of Jason. The curly haired boy looked like a Latino Santa's elf, with pointy ears, a cheerful, babyish face and mischievous grin that told you to never trust him with matches or sharp objects.

The girl snapped at him, "Leo!"

Leo held up his hands in surrender, 'My bad."

"This is some kind of mistake," Jason said. "I'm not supposed to be here."

The boy in front of him turned and laughed. "Yeah, right, Jason. We've all been framed! I didn't blow up 13 different schools! Piper didn't steal a BMW!"

"Desmond!"

Desmond had jet black hair, and azure blue eyes. Something about his eyes, made it seem as if he had seen many things most never would have imagined. All of a sudden, they glazed over, flitting side to side before returning to normal. Jason could have sworn that within those three seconds his eyes had flashed brown.

Desmond grinned, "So, had a nice nap?" winking suggestively.

Piper blushed, and slapped him.

In the front of the bus, a teacher shouted, "All right, cupcakes, listen up!"

The guy was obviously a coach. His baseball cap was pulled low over his hair, so you could just see his beady eyes. He had a wispy goatee and a sour face, like he'd eaten something moldy. His buff arms and chest pushed against a bright orange polo shirt. His nylon workout pants and Nikes were spotless white. A whistle hung from his neck, and a megaphone was clipped to his belt. He would've looked pretty scary if he hadn't been five feet zero.

When he stood up, one of the kids shouted, "Stand up Coach Hedge!"

"I HEARD THAT!"

As he scanned the bus for the offender, his eyes narrowed on Jason. He gulped.

_He knows I'm not supposed to be here._

But he just looked away and shouted out, "We'll be arriving there in five minutes! Stay with your partner. Don't lose your worksheet. And if any of you precious cupcakes cause trouble on the trip, like Mr. Blake did, I'll send you back to campus the hard way!"

He swung his bat – which Jason never noticed before – like he was hitting a homer, causing the kid next to him to yelp and duck.

"Seriously, can he talk to us that way?"

"Always has, and always will," Desmond replied mysteriously.

Leo and Desmond broke into guffaws, while Piper inched slowly away from them.

"Hey, check this out." Leo said, before cupping his hands to his mouth. "Coach Hedge, I had trouble hearing you! Can you use your megaphone?"

Hedge grunted with pleasure, and held it to his mouth.

"This is gonna be epic."

"THE PIG SAYS OINK!"

The entire bus exploded into laughter, while Hedge whacked his megaphone. Trying again this time it blared out, "THE CHICKEN SAYS CLUCK!"

"VALDEZ!"

"Gods, Leo, how did you do that?" Jason asked.

"What can I say? I'm a special kid," as he slid a Phillips cross head screwdriver into his jacket pocket.

Jason shook his head, as he had a sudden fleeting memory of a boy, face smeared with grease. For some reason, he felt some similarity with him and Leo.

**Later, inside the Museum…**

Piper was dragged off by her partner, Dylan. For some reason, Jason felt _jealous _that Piper was paired with Dylan instead of him. He settled for a glare at Dylan. Desmond, however, had his lips pulled back in a snarl, two weird looking golden cylinders clenched in his hands. They were covered in strange carvings, and felt _familiar_.

Leo looked at Desmond and groaned, "Seriously, what is this kid's problem? He seems to have a personal vendetta against Dylan. The counselor says its anger management, but still his reactions seem too _extreme_."

Jason nodded, accepting it, but still… something didn't feel right.

The two held back Desmond from hurling himself at Dylan, and the three of them worked on their worksheets on the skywalk. Jason noticed Desmond kept throwing weird glances between Dylan and Hedge. Finally he stood up, "I'm going to the washroom, feel free to copy."

As he walked off, Leo grabbed his worksheet, "Damn, he's a genius!"

He copied Desmond's answers, while Jason watched Desmond. He went to talk with Coach Hedge, before heading for the toilets.

All of a sudden, storm clouds rolled in. Within seconds, the sky above them was a rolling mass of storm clouds. Thunder boomed, and hurricane force winds slammed into the skywalk. The students and tourists screamed and ran for the exits. Piper and Dylan held open the doors, herding the students in. Jason and Leo struggled towards the doors. They were about to reach them when the doors slammed shut, leaving Coach Hedge, Dylan, Jason, Leo and Piper outside.

Piper pounded on the doors, "Dylan, help!"

Dylan just stood there like an idiot, the wind not affecting him at all. Rain poured down in sheets, and lightning flashed all around him. "I'm done waiting. Without your protector here, I can finally make my move."

Without warning, Dylan seemed to vaporize, his molecules becoming unglued. He burst apart, reforming into a dark smoky figure, with black wings protruding from his back.

"Stay back Jason, Leo, I should have known that was our monster."

"Indeed you should, your senses are getting weaker Gleeson."

Desmond appeared out of nowhere, as well as another figure, which looked exactly like Desmond if not for his caramel hair and brown eyes. He held the cylinders in Desmond's hand earlier. The two, like Dylan, were unaffected by the storm. In fact, they seemed to gain strength from it.

Dylan growled, "Song Masters, you will rue this day when you came across the wrath of the storm spirits." He hissed, but the two laughed.

"Really, we've been cursed by many, but they never live to fulfill it. You would be unwise to challenge the Monster Hunters."

Dylan's eyes widened, but the two smirked together, and attacked Dylan. The caramel colored hair boy twirled the cylinders in his hand, and a battle axe sprung out from each. Desmond raised his hands as fire and lightning covered his entire body.

Dylan paled, and grabbed Piper, who was too stunned to move, "Don't move, or I'll blast her head off!"

Desmond's twin smirked, "Oh really?"

He merged into Desmond, and they/he swung an axe, black rip appearing in the air. Without warning, they/he reached in and grabbed Piper from it. There was a buzz, and the black rip disappeared. Dylan shrieked, and a dozen black figures shot down from the clouds. "Get him!"

They/he raised an eyebrow, before swinging the axe, sending an energy wave at the black figures. They all dissipated before anyone could move.

In a flash, they/he had Dylan in a headlock. "Say hello to Great-Great-Grandmother for me, will ya?"

There was a snap, and Dylan broke into golden dust. They/he separated.

"So, Damien, ready to roll?"

"Sure thing bro."

The two brothers disappeared in a flash, leaving behind awestruck Jason, Leo and Piper.

While the storm clouds were breaking up, they discussed about Desmond and Damien.

"Who the hell are they?"

"What does Dylan mean by they are our protectors?"

"Are those flying horses?"

All three of them looked up. Two pegasi were pulling a brightly painted box – A _chariot_ – and there were two kids inside, a girl and a boy. The chariot landed, and all of a sudden, the girl leapt out and charged Jason.

"Who are you? Where's your protector?"

All Jason could think of was _Huh?_

_If she was referring to Desmond and Damien…_

Jason replied, "Look, I have no idea who you're talking about. Who's this protector?"

"The one who was supposed to look after you guys! And Hedge, why didn't you keep him here?!"

The coach just scowled at her, "Missus, I was _busy _trying not to get blown off!"

The boy alighted, "Annabeth, lets interrogate them later at camp. Those kids are getting nervous."

"HELL YA! What the _freaking_ hell is going on here?! First the dude with O.P. powers, next the crazy dude Dylan who turned into a dark angel, and then what do you mean by Hedge was supposed to keep him here?!" ranted Leo.

The boy raised an eyebrow, "We'll discuss everything at camp. Just get in the chariot, name's Butch by the way."

Jason noticed there was a tattoo of a rainbow on his bicep, but chose to ignore it. "So… lead the way."

**5 minutes later…**

Another blast of lightning missed the chariot's wheel by a fraction of an inch. Hundreds of dark angels – _ventus_ – and dark horses rampaged all around them.

"There's too many! We need to fight them off! The chariot can't take any more of this!"

"You _had_ to jinx it!"

There was a shudder, and a storm horse slammed into the chariot. The passengers screamed. Jason felt the coin in his pocket get warmer to the point of burning. He pulled it out and on an impulse, flipped it. "Dude, you've been holding out on me–"

The coin landed back in his palm as a meter long golden sword. "– AHH!"

Another horse slammed into the chariot, sending Piper plummeting towards the ground.

"PIPER!"

"JASON!"

But it was too late. Piper was swallowed up by the storm clouds surrounding them.

_**~Line Break~**_

**-Piper-**

_Falling._

She fell, out of control. She couldn't tell what was up and down. Where was the sky and where was the ground. No sense of direction, just the feeling of having left her stomach back on the chariot. She shut her eyes, waiting for the moment when she would hit the ground and poured out of her boot. She anticipated the quick moment of pain, and then it would be over, to the underworld, maybe to meet with Grandpa Tom.

It never came.

There was a feeling of a presence, and then slowing of her fall before landing on a soft comfortable bed of feathers, another warm body holding her close to stop her from falling.

_Was this Elysium?_

She opened her eyes, and found herself on the back of a large black bird. It turned its head to regard her for a second, before it started pulling up. She looked the other way and came face to face with a boy, a hammer clipped to his belt.

"You okay? That was quite a close shave. I'd better get you up there with your friends, and then you can continue your journey."

"Um… who are you?"

"Name's Darryl, friend of Desmond and Damien, leader of Demigod City, haven for demigods and peaceful creatures of all pantheons. I came to help out, as a personal favor to Desmond."

"But…"

"Never mind, we'll talk another day if we meet again."

He let her sit up, and without another word, shoved her off, disappearing into the darkness.

Piper had the horrible sensation of falling again, but it lasted for only a second before she landed in the chariot. Jason jumped, Leo groaning as she had landed on him.

"Why do I get the bad luck?"

"Piper! You're okay!"

"Yeah I'm fine; I'll explain when we land. So how are we getting out of here?"

Jason swung his sword – she never noticed that – and sliced a horse which came too close to the side and it dissipated into dust. "We'll need more help, you know, if we're gonna get out of here."

"Don't worry, help is here."

"Why would you say that – WHOA!"

A dark shape passed overhead and two blasts of lightning shot from the pointed end, incinerating a dozen storm spirits each. A figure leapt from it, and bashed through 5 storm spirits on the journey down, before using the turbulent air currents to jump up onto the dark shape as it passed over for another attack.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HADES IS THAT THING?!" shrieked Butch.

"Help," Annabeth grumbled.

The figure leapt again, and crashed into 3 more spirits, landing on the chariot in a shower of golden dust. "Damn, easy to get out of shape in this pantheon… no wonder he comes and steals my hunts."

"Hey, thanks for saving me earlier," Piper said.

Jason just stared, Leo having passed out from shock.

"No prob', just try not to make it a habit in the future."

"Wait a sec, time out. Who are you?"

"Your protector, the previous guy having timed out, duh."

"Can we talk about this later, and concentrate on getting to camp first?"

"Very well, Thunderbird, kindly takeout the rest of them please."

There was an answering screech, and a huge _boom_ of lightning surrounded them. The air was filled with the dying shrieks of the remaining storm spirits. When it faded, the others saw clear sky, and several buildings below them. There were loads of people swarming down below, and from their actions, Piper guessed that they were staring up at them.

Butch cursed under his breath, "Dammit, nearly missed camp. Stupid airheads, lightning freaks…" there was a lot more, which cannot be written down.

He flicked the reins, and the chariot dived towards the ground. Leo chose this moment to wake up. "What's going on – Argh!"

As they shot down, Darryl just stood firm and smirked, "Well, I'll have to go, got a city to run. Bye!"

Before they could stop him, he jumped off, Thunderbird catching him and flying off with him on his back.

The last thing Piper registered was the chariot falling apart, and they were falling – again – towards the lake.


End file.
